Urban-rural Europe - equality in cities

Data extracted: October 2022.

Planned article update: December 2024.

Highlights

There were 1.6 million foreign citizens living in Paris (France) in 2019, which was more than twice the number of foreigners living in any other city of the EU; the second and third highest numbers of foreigners were observed in Madrid (Spain) and Berlin (Germany).

In 2021, there were only two metropolitan regions in the EU where the employment rate for women was higher than that for men: Limoges in south-west/central France, and Hildesheim in northern Germany.

The European Union (EU) is founded on respect for equality and human rights, permitting the basic principles of pluralism, tolerance and solidarity to prevail, while eliminating discrimination on the basis of gender, sexuality, age, race, nationality, disability, age, religion and so on.

Source: Eurostat (lfst_r_erednu)

Successful cities are those that consider the diverse needs of all individuals and social groups, providing an environment that allows them to live their lives, for example in school, work, with friends and relatives, or enjoying cultural and other recreational opportunities. There is a growing appreciation of the need to prioritise inclusive urban planning, as it shapes the environment around us; that environment, in turn, shapes how we all live, work, play and rest.

This article forms part of Eurostat’s online publication Urban Europe; it analyses EU cities in terms of equality. Note that gender issues are also covered in an article on the labour market, while another article provides complementary information about women and men living in rural areas. Note also that another online publication provides a wide range of analyses concerning migrant integration statistics.

Full article

Labour market

Alongside equality being legally recognised, it also has to be applied effectively to all aspects of life: political, economic, social and cultural. Cities across the EU have signed the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life and have set-up gender equality action plans. In practice, inequalities remain: women and men do not enjoy the same rights, for example, in terms of gender pay gaps, gender employment gaps, or the under-representation of women in managerial posts.

In 2021, the employment rate for working-age women (20–64 years) living in cities across the EU was 69.0 %; this was 8.5 percentage points lower than the corresponding rate for men (77.5 %). Figure 1 shows the 10 metropolitan regions in the EU with the largest and smallest gender employment gaps.

In 2021, there were only two metropolitan regions where the employment rate for women was higher than that for men:
- Limoges in south-west/central France, where the employment rate for women was 71.1 % (compared with a rate of 70.8 % for men);
- Hildesheim in northern Germany, where the employment rate for women was 84.1 % (compared with a rate of 80.7 % for men).
There were eight metropolitan regions where the gap between employment rates for men and women was no more than 1.5 percentage points (with higher employment rates for men) – they were all located in western, Baltic or Nordic Member States.

In 2021, there were three metropolitan regions across the EU where the gender employment gap was wider than 30.0 percentage points: Galați, Constanța (both Romania) and Taranto (Italy). Relatively large gaps were also observed in several other Romanian and Italian metropolitan regions, as well as Tarnów (south-eastern Poland); see Figure 1. More generally, there remain considerable differences in employment rates between the sexes in many eastern and southern Member States. This may reflect, among other factors, the economic structure of local economies as well as cultural norms that promote the traditional role of women as caregivers and/or housewives.

Figure 1: Employment rates (20–64 years) by sex, selected metropolitan regions, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (met_lfe3emprt)

Women across the EU are generally more likely (than men) to be in temporary, part-time or precarious employment. This may explain, at least to some degree, why women tend to bear a disproportionate burden during times of recession (for example, the global financial and economic crisis or the COVID-19 crisis) with their unemployment rates rising at a faster pace.

In 2021, the unemployment rate for females (aged 15–74 years) living in cities across the EU was 7.9 %; the corresponding rate for males was marginally lower, at 7.8 %. Figure 2 shows the metropolitan regions in the EU with the largest gender unemployment gaps.

The left-hand side displays the regions where unemployment rates were higher for males (than females); note that these were often regions characterised by relatively low overall unemployment rates. Galați (Romania) had the largest gap, with a male unemployment rate of 11.4 %, which was 6.0 percentage points higher than the female unemployment rate (5.4 %). The next largest gaps were in Namur (Belgium), Aachen (Germany) and Mulhouse (France): this was in keeping with a general pattern whereby most of the metropolitan regions with higher male (than female) unemployment rates were located in western and northern EU Member States or in Poland.
By contrast, the largest gender unemployment gaps (where unemployment rates were higher for females) were often recorded in metropolitan regions that were characterised by relatively high overall unemployment rates. This was often the case for metropolitan regions located in southern EU Member States. The biggest gaps were in Cádiz, Córdoba (both Spain) and Thessaloniki (Greece).

Figure 2: Unemployment rates (15–74 years) by sex, selected metropolitan regions, 2021
(% share of labour force)
Source: Eurostat (met_lfu3rt)

Foreign citizens

Migrants have historically played an important role in demographic and economic developments, particularly in some of Europe’s largest cities. The selective nature of migratory patterns is such that migrant arrivals are often concentrated in relatively few, large cities, which therefore tend to accommodate a relatively high share of immigrants.

The percentage of foreigners living in many of Europe’s cities has risen in recent years. Figure 3 shows information for the 10 EU cities with the highest absolute number and the highest share of foreigners within their populations in 2020. As may be expected, the highest counts were in some of the EU’s largest cities.

There were 1.6 million foreign citizens living in Paris (France) in 2019, which was more than twice the number of foreigners living in any other city of the EU.
The second and third highest numbers of foreigners were observed in Madrid (Spain) and Berlin (Germany), both of which had more than 700 000 foreign inhabitants in 2020.
There were considerably more non-EU citizens (1.2 million; 2019 data) living in Paris when compared with citizens of other EU Member States (402 000; also 2019 data). However, among the 10 EU cities with the highest number of foreigners in 2020, Lisboa (Portugal), Barcelona (Spain) and Milano (Italy) all recorded a larger share of non-EU citizens than Paris. By contrast, Bruxelles/Brussel was the only city where more than half of all foreigners were from the EU; in München the size of the two categories of foreigners was almost balanced.

Figure 3: Foreign citizens in selected cities, 2020
(1 000 and % share of total population)
Source: Eurostat (urb_cpopcb) and (urb_cpop1)

The second half of Figure 3 shows the 10 cities in the EU with the highest shares of foreigners within their total populations in 2020:

Narva in eastern Estonia was the only city (among those for which data are available) to record an absolute majority (51.0 %) of its population composed of foreigners; almost all of its foreign citizens were non-EU citizens (mainly recognised non-citizens or Russians).
The next highest shares – with around two fifths of their population composed for foreign citizens – were observed in Torrevieja (south-east Spain) and Cayenne (the capital of French Guiana; 2019 data).
Among the 10 EU cities with the highest shares of foreigners, there were five where a majority of all foreigners were from the EU – Mouscron (which is situated in Belgium next to the border with France), Bruxelles/Brussel (also Belgium), Fuengirola (southern Spain), Offenbach am Main and Ludwigshafen am Rhein (both Germany).

The integration of immigrants into their respective host societies is, to at least some degree, determined by opportunities to actively participate in gainful employment. Inequitable labour market outcomes may result from, among other factors, differential employment and unemployment rates, the concentration of migrants and minorities in specific economic sectors, income and wage disparities, as well as differences in working conditions, access to education and recognition of qualifications.

The next section looks at employment rates of core working-age people (defined as those aged 25–54 years). In 2021, EU-wide employment rates for working-age people living in cities ranged from 82.4 % for nationals and 78.7 % for citizens of other EU Member States down to 62.8 % for non-EU citizens; see Figure 4. This pattern – relatively high employment rates for nationals and relatively low employment rates for non-EU citizens – was repeated in most EU Member States. However, there were some exceptions:

EU citizens (other than nationals) living in the cities of Belgium, Czechia, the Baltic Member States, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal and Sweden were more likely than nationals or non-EU citizens to be in employment;
Non-EU citizens living in Malta, were more likely than nationals to be in employment;
Non-EU citizens living in the cities of Greece, were more likely than EU citizens (other than nationals) to be in employment.

Figure 4: Employment rate (25–54 years) in cities by citizenship, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_r_erednu)

Figure 5: Employment rate (25–54 years) of foreign citizens in cities by education level, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfst_r_erednu)

Figure 5 provides additional information on employment rates for foreign citizens of core working age (25–54 years), introducing an analysis by educational attainment. In 2021, EU employment rates for working-age people living in cities with a tertiary educational attainment peaked at 84.8 % for citizens of other EU Member States; this was 15.2 percentage points higher than the corresponding rate for non-EU citizens (69.6 %). A similar pattern was observed for working-age people living in cities with a lower level of educational attainment, insofar as 69.1 % of EU citizens (other than nationals) with no more than a lower secondary education were in employment, some 13.9 points higher than the corresponding rate for non-EU citizens (55.2 %).

Greece was only EU Member State (subject to data availability) where the employment rate for non-EU citizens with a tertiary educational attainment was higher than the corresponding rate for citizens of other EU Member States.
Czechia and Italy were the only Member States (subject to data availability) where the employment rate for non-EU citizens with no more than a lower secondary education was higher than the corresponding rate for citizens of other EU Member States.

Health and safety

There is growing recognition that the urban fabric of cities plays an important role in determining health outcomes. An urban health advantage may be linked to a range of issues: better access to health infrastructure and social services; higher levels of educational attainment; higher incomes; better living and working conditions; less exposure to risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy diets. On the other hand, an urban health penalty may exist, for example, within inner cities or deprived neighbourhoods that are characterised by poverty or social exclusion. Lesser health outcomes may result from, among other determinants: overcrowding; low quality housing; homelessness; addiction; a lack of adequate ventilation and/or sanitation; air and noise pollution. Negative social and environmental determinants in cities may also impact an individual’s mental health.

Figure 6: People living in cities with good or very good health status by age, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (hlth_silc_18)

In 2021, almost four fifths (79.7 %) of working-age people (defined here as those aged 16–64 years) living in cities across the EU reported that they had good or very good health status (see Figure 6); this share was 1.2 percentage points higher than the overall share for all working-age people (78.5 %).

The highest proportions of working-age people living in cities reporting good or very good health status – at almost 90.0 % – were observed in Greece and Romania.
Latvia was the only EU Member State where less than two thirds of the working-age population living in a city reported good or very good health status.
In Malta, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands, a lower share of working-age people living in cities (compared with all working-age people) reported good or very good health status.

Figure 6 also shows information for older people (aged 65 years or over): as may be expected, a lower share of this cohort reported good or very good health status. In 2021, 42.5 % of older people living in cities across the EU reported that they had good or very good health status; this was 1.5 percentage points higher than the overall share for all older people (41.0 %). There were eight EU Member States where more than half of all older people living in cities reported good or very good health status: each of these was a western or Nordic Member State, the highest proportions being recorded in Belgium (60.1 %), Sweden (63.8 %) and Ireland (66.1 %). In Swedish cities, the share of older people with good or very good health status was 14.6 percentage points lower than the share for working-age people in cities – this was the narrowest gap among the EU Member States; Ireland had the second narrowest gap.

In 2021, 1.7 % of the EU’s working-age population (aged 16–64 years) living in cities reported that they had unmet needs for medical examination (as a result of it being too expensive, too far to travel or because of a waiting list); a higher share (2.5 %) was recorded among older generations (aged 65 years or over). Looking in more detail, the share of older people living in cities with unmet needs for medical examination for these reasons ranged from 0.0 % in Germany and Luxembourg up to 14.3 % in Estonia and 14.9 % in Greece. Concerning generational equality, it is interesting to note that older people living in cities were less likely (than the working-age population) to report unmet needs for medical examination in the Benelux Member States, Denmark, France, Sweden and Germany.

Figure 7: People living in cities with self-reported unmet needs for medical examination by age, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (hlth_silc_21)

The main sources of air pollution in cities include road vehicles as well as industrial, public, commercial and residential combustion of solid fuels. Fine particulate matter is very small pieces – defined here as less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM_2.5) – of solid or liquid matter in the atmosphere. It can be carried deep into the lungs where it may cause inflammation or worsen the condition of those suffering with heart and lung diseases. The highest concentrations of air pollution are generally observed in eastern EU Member States – from the burning of solid fuels for domestic heating and their use in industry – as well as in northern Italy.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in the EU. The EEA estimate, that in 2020, there were 238 000 premature deaths across the EU due to exposure to fine particulate matter concentrations above the level recommended by the World Health Organization (5µg/m³) ^[1].

Figure 8: Premature deaths due to exposure to PM_2.5, selected predominantly urban regions, 2020
(premature deaths per 100 000 inhabitants)
Source: European Commission, European Environment Agency (EEA); Premature deaths due to exposure to fine particulate matter in Europe and Air Quality Health Risk Assessments

Figure 8 shows the number of premature deaths per 100 000 inhabitants in predominantly urban regions of the EU, detailing the range between the highest and lowest rates of each EU Member State.

In 2020, the number of premature deaths due to exposure to fine particulate matter peaked at 216 per 100 000 inhabitants in the Bulgarian capital city region of Sofia (stolitsa).
There were also relatively high ratios, within the range of 150 to 163 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, in five regions across Poland and Romania; the second highest rate among the EU’s predominantly urban regions was observed in Miasto Kraków (southern Poland).
Considering all predominantly urban regions with rates of at least 100 premature deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, 11 were in Poland, eight in Italy, three in Greece, two in Romania, and one in each of Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary.
By contrast, there were five predominantly urban regions in northern EU Member States where there were less than 10 premature deaths per 100 000 inhabitants due to exposure to fine particulate matter; two regions from Estonia, two from Sweden, and one from Finland.

One way of assessing equality between predominantly urban regions is to compare the highest and lowest ratios in individual EU Member States, for example:

in 2020, a resident of Milano in northern Italy was 4.0 times as likely as someone living in Cagliari (the capital region of Sardegna) to die prematurely as a result of exposure to fine particulate matter;
the risk of dying prematurely as a result of exposure fine particulate matter in Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt was 2.9 times as likely as for someone living in Städteregion Aachen, despite the relatively short distance (approximately 100 km) between these two regions in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany;
a resident in the eastern Spanish region of Barcelona was 2.7 times as likely as someone living in the northern Spanish region of Gipuzkoa to die prematurely as a result of exposure to fine particulate matter.

In this final analysis, the focus shifts to crime, violence and vandalism. Unsurprisingly, people living in neighbourhoods characterised by high levels of economic and social inequality are often more likely to be exposed to violence (with violent crime typically concentrated in a few isolated, deprived neighbourhoods). Policymakers increasingly recognise the need to address the issues of poverty, exclusion and deprivation, if they are to lower crime rates and improve the equality of opportunity.

In 2020, some 16.3 % of the EU population living in cities faced the problems of crime, violence or vandalism in their local area. Note that the latest information on the share of people facing the problems of crime, violence or vandalism by degree of urbanisation is presented in Figure 19 of an article on the quality of life in rural areas.

One of the most serious crimes is that of intentional homicide. Compared with other parts of the world, there are relatively few homicides in the EU; the count in 2019 was 3 895 intentional homicides. Expressed as a ratio per 100 000 inhabitants, intentional homicides peaked in the three Baltic Member States – 4.74 in Latvia, 3.01 in Lithuania and 1.74 in Estonia – while there were less than 0.60 intentional homicides per 100 000 inhabitants in Hungary, Poland, Italy and Slovenia (2018 data).

Figure 9 shows there was no clear pattern when comparing intentional homicide rates for capital cities with national averages in 2019.

People living in the Cypriot and Slovakian capitals of Lefkosia and Bratislava were 3.1 times and 2.9 times as likely to have been intentionally killed by another person than the national average.
People living in the Latvian, French or Slovenian (2018 data) capitals were far less likely (than the national average) to have been intentionally killed by another person.

Figure 9: Intentional homicide offences in capital cities, 2019
(per 100 000 inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (crim_hom_vcit) and (crim_off_cat)

Source data for tables and graphs

Cities of equality: tables and figures

Context

EU law and United Nations conventions provide a broad legislative framework regarding equality and non-discrimination law. Indeed, fundamental rights are at the heart of the EU and are enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It assembles in a single document the fundamental rights and freedoms protected in the EU, regrouped in six chapters: dignity; freedoms; equality; solidarity; citizens’ rights; and justice. Title III on equality contains general provisions on equality as well as more specific provisions concerning the rights of the child and of the elderly, integration of persons with disabilities, equality between women and men and linguistic diversity.

Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union states that ‘The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail’. EU equality legislation is legally binding in all EU Member States: each country has the obligation not only to respect and apply EU laws, but also to transpose them into national legislation to ensure that all individuals and organisations respect and apply them as well.

In March 2020, the European Commission published A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 (COM(2020) 152 final) as one of a series of EU initiatives and strategies concerning equality, diversity and inclusion. It is structured around six themes:

being free from violence and stereotypes;
thriving in a gender-equal economy;
leading equally throughout society;
gender mainstreaming and an intersectional perspective in EU policies;
funding actions to make progress in gender equality in the EU;
addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment across the world.

Migration is a complex issue, balancing the safety of people who seek international protection or a better life with concerns that migratory pressures may exceed local/national capacities. To address the interdependence between EU Member States’ policies and decisions, the European Commission proposed A New Pact on Migration and Asylum (COM(2020) 609 final), designed to provide certainty, clarity and decent conditions for people arriving in the EU. This includes an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure respect of fundamental rights and an individual assessment of asylum claims and essential guarantees protecting access to asylum, the right to liberty, the rights of the child, as well as the right to an effective remedy. Further to that, in November 2020, an Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027 (COM(2016) 377 final) was adopted. This plan is one of the initiatives completing the new pact on migration and asylum and it promotes integration and inclusion, focusing on the essentials of successful integration and inclusion into a host society – education and training, employment and skills, health and housing.

Notes

↑ Premature deaths are those that occur before a person reaches an expected age. This expected age is typically life expectancy for an individual country, stratified by sex and age. Premature deaths are considered preventable if their cause can be eliminated.

Direct access to

Visualisations

Urban Agenda for the EU

European Commission – Directorate-General Agriculture and rural development

European Commission – Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy

European Committee of the Regions

European Committee of the Regions

European networks

United Nations

[1] Premature deaths are those that occur before a person reaches an expected age. This expected age is typically life expectancy for an individual country, stratified by sex and age. Premature deaths are considered preventable if their cause can be eliminated.

[1]